Whicker: Washington has an answer for every Cal State Fullerton challenge

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Washington team celebrate their walk-off win in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Hank LoForte celebrates his solo homer in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Blake Workman, left, and Daniel Cope walks towards the mound after Washington outfielder Braiden Ward scores during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

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Cal State Fullerton team show their disappointment after a 6-5 walk-off loss in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tanner Bibee delivers a pitch during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton catcher Daniel Cope, left, tags out Washington’s Christian Jones sliding at home plate during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tanner Bibee appreciates to Mitchell Berryhill after Berryhill threw out Washington’s Christian Jones at home plate during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton infielder Sahid Valenzuela dives for a grounder during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tanner Bibee celebrates after getting out of third inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington team celebrate their walk-off win in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton infielder Hank LoForte, right, loses handle of the ball as he tries to turn a double play over the slide by Washington’s Levi Jordan during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton infielder Hank LoForte can’t reach the grounder during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Daniel Cope, right, looks away after a walk-off run scored by Washington in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington’s Kaiser Weiss swings for a walk-off sacrifice fly during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington’s Willie MacIver, left, celebrates his solo homer with third base coach during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington dugout celebrate Willie MacIver’s solo homer in the fifth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington dugout show their excitement during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Washington’s Alex Hardy sprints back to the dugout as he picking up a foul ball during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Cal State Fullerton at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Sahid Valenzuela and the team show their excitement after scoring three runs in the ninth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton infielder Jake Pavletich, left, leaps to catch a foul ball over a fan’s reach during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Jordan Hernandez gets hit on his elbow in the ninth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Blake Workman, left, and Daniel Cope walks towards the mound after Washington outfielder Braiden Ward scores during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Jake Pavletich celebrates after hitting a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton’s Hank LoForte hits a solo homer in the tenth inning during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

Cal State Fullerton pitcher Tanner Bibee, left, is being removed from the game during the game 3 of an NCAA super regionals against Washington at Goodwin Field in Fullerton on Sunday, June 10, 2018. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/Contributing Photographer)

FULLERTON — Washington’s baseball team would have gone anywhere to play in an NCAA regional.

Anywhere turned out to be Conway, S.C., home of top-seeded Coastal Carolina.

That meant changing planes and layovers and the distinct possibility the bags might visit another regional somewhere.

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The athletic department recognized this and ordered a nonstop charter. The only catch was that a fuel stop was required.

In Omaha.

“I honestly didn’t know what to think about that,” said Nick Kahle, the catcher.

Every day, coach Lindsay Meggs had walked into team meetings and said, “Good morning,” and that was the cue for the entire team to answer, “Omaha!” The Huskies never had played in a College World Series before.

Meggs had coached at Long Beach City College and played at UCLA. He played for Dave Snow. He played for George Horton in an Alaskan summer league. He knew what he wanted to bring to Seattle: “Cal State Fullerton-style baseball, in the Pac-12.”

Meggs reached out and grabbed Kahle and kissed him on the forehead. The Huskies won Game 3 of the NCAA Super Regional Sunday night, at Cal State Fullerton.

Actually it felt like Games 3-4-5 because they had to win three different times, but Kaiser Weiss delivered a simple run-scoring fly ball with bases loaded, no out in the 10th. That ended a baseball game that turned into a slam-dunk contest.. Among the wacky aspects was Washington getting the bottom of the ninth at Fullerton’s ballpark, since both were No. 3 seeds in the regional and thus flipped coins.

“I probably should have done a better job flipping it today,” said Rick Vanderhook, the Fullerton coach.

The Titans were double-crossed by their own defense, particularly in the 10th, when reliever Brett Conine threw away a bunt and the middle infielders erred twice. But they’ll always believe they would have won if they’d gotten the ball last.

Hank LoForte slammed a rare Titan home run in the 10th for a 5-4 lead. In the ninth, the Titans put together three runs, culminating with Chris Prescott’s go-ahead single, but Washington tied it on an RBI single by Mater Dei alum Jonathan Schiffer.

Until the ninth, Washington’s Joe DeMers pitched the most immaculate game you’ll ever see. He gave Fullerton one hit and needed only 78 pitches. He had only one walk and one 3-ball count. His fastball was tailing away from lefties and crowding righties. He retired the first 18 Titans he faced with no difficulty whatsoever.

“I looked up and it was the fifth inning already,” said Kahle, who got Washington’s first run on a homer off Tanner Bibee. “When a guy can put the ball exactly where you’re expecting him to, that’s pretty sweet for a catcher.”

But LoForte cracked a hard double to open the seventh. The Titans’ contact intensified. Then came the ninth and DeMers began it by drilling pinch-hitter Jordan Hernandez.

“We had two leadoff baserunners all night and both scored,” Vanderhook said. “We need things like that to get our offense going.”

“I was getting a little worn out,” DeMers said.

You picked a heck of a time to hit your second home run of the year Mr. LoForte…

“I wanted him to finish it,” Meggs said. “I probably made a mistake, not taking him out.”

This is the fourth time a Pac-12 team has won a Super Regional at Goodwin Field, the only four times the Titans ever have lost one. The spirit of their program still shone through, even though the hands didn’t always. Catcher Daniel Cope broke his left thumb in the third inning on Friday yet caught every pitch thereafter.

“From where we started (1-7), we still wound up getting within one out of going to Omaha,” Vanderhook said. “So I’m pretty proud of our group.”

The Titans built a towering standard through 18 trips to Omaha. If their teams lose and especially if they lose ugly, they are judged by that. For Washington, this is a time of gleefuly discovery. Meggs has been at UW for nine years and this was the Huskies’ third postseason trip. They have a uninhibited dugout, where guys openly dance to the between-innings music. Sometimes the opposition doesn’t see the humor.

“But I think that helps us in situations like this,” Kahle said. “The guys on the bench don’t let us get down.”

Kahle is a junior who was the Mission League MVP at Chaminade. That wasn’t bad, considering that teammate Blake Rutherford and Notre Dame’s Hunter Greene were both playing. Kahle has caught every one of the Huskies’ 59 games and hit .295. He made only four errors.

He chose Washington without much assurance of June baseball.

“I just liked their coaches and the guys,” Kahle said. “Coach Meggs has a tough approach, but you feel like you’re getting better every day, you’re not going through the motions. It’s a chance to do something special.”

The Huskies’ next stop is Omaha, this time scheduled. Fuel will not be a problem.